From: MediAction@aol.com
Date: Sun, 14 Jul 1996 03:58:39 -0400
Subject: MediAlert! -- July 12
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INDEX: "MediAlert!" for 12 July 96.
-ITEM 1: "THE NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME PLAYERS" [Singled Out; MTV; Roseanne;
ABC; Out On Tuesday; Channel 4; Sex and Sexuality in Broadcasting;
Broadcasting Standards Council].
-ITEM 2: "GLAAD TO BE HYPOCRITES" [Singled Out; Roseanne; GLAAD National
Office; December Bride; MTV; ABC].
-ITEM 3: "FACING HATE" [Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays;
They Deserve It?; Pat Robertson; Wacky?-Families Trying To Understand
Homosexuality; PFLAG-Toledo].
-ITEM 4: "MEDIALERT!/BRIEFS" [Report of the Secretary's Task Force on Youth
Suicide; Journal of Homosexuality; The Real World; Sex In The 90's VIII;
Women's Television Network; Doubletake; MediaWatch; Forbidden Love; The
Internet-What It Can and Can't Do for Activists; WTLN; The Orlando Sentinel;
George Crossley].
-GENERAL INFORMATION [about MediAlerts; author notes].
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M e d i A l e r t !
_____________________________
July 6 - 12, 1996 Al Kielwasser
[1]
T H E N O T R E A D Y F O R P R I M E T I M E P L A Y E R S
On June 28, MTV broke new broadcast ground when the network included same-sex
couples on its popular dating game show, "Singled Out." As with other media
milestones, however, this advance was marked by a simultaneous retreat.
For "Singled Out's" lesbian and gay episode, MTV canceled the show's usual
prime-time broadcast. Instead, the program was shown four hours later -- at
11:00 PM. Moreover, the broadcast was a one-time deal. Whereas regular
(heterosexual) episodes of "Singled Out" are repeated several times during
the week, the homosexual episode was aired only ONCE.
In an interview for the Associated Press (June 27), MTV spokesperson Tina
Exarhos attempted to explain the network's extraordinary scheduling. "There
was some content we felt should air at a later time," Exarhos said. "It has
absolutely nothing to do with outside pressure from any group. We're proud
to present the show, and we're doing it during Gay Pride week."
Of course, by "some content" Exarhos meant "homosexual content" -- ANY
homosexual content. The lesbian and gay episode did not, after all, differ
in any other way from previous broadcasts of "Singled Out."
Privately, MTV staff have challenged the network's official explanation.
According to one employee, the 7:00 PM broadcast was actually preempted
because several "advertisers, led by McDonalds, backed out."
A spokesperson for NAYA bottled water -- one of "Singled Out's" regular
sponsors -- publicly took exception to MTV's preemptive strike, however. "It
looks like censorship, and you don't expect that from MTV,'' said Steve
Wasik, NAYA's vice president and general manager.
Of course, relegating lesbian and gay subjects to fringe time slots is hardly
without precedent in other mainstream media. Most recently, ABC booted an
episode of "Roseanne," simply because it contained a gay wedding scene.
According to ABC's (double) standards and practices department, such "adult
content" was not suitable for young viewers.
MTV's decision is especially discouraging, though. As Wasik suggested, this
network has made more of an effort than most to include lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender content. Queer themes have not only appeared in
MTV's music video rotations, but also in the network's "Sex in the 90's"
documentaries, "MTV News" reports, and every incarnation of "The Real World."
[See "Real Sex," below].
In deciding to relocate the lesbian and gay episode of "Singled Out," MTV
capitulated to one of the most regressive programming assumptions. In the
dominant entertainment media, queers are consistently (if not exclusively)
presumed to be something of "special interest." Often, homosexual subjects
are treated as if they can (or should) appeal ONLY to homosexuals. Clearly,
this was MTV's assumption.
Most of the promotional energy for "Singled Out's" lesbian and gay episode
was spent pitching the broadcast to a lesbian and gay audience. MTV placed
ads for the show in "Out" magazine, which subsequently purchased airtime on
MTV. "Out" was conspicuously advertised during the episode, appearing as the
irregular sponsor for an irregular broadcast.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with patronizing or promoting queer
publications. With regard to the mainstream media, however, such targeting
can (without direct intention) cause a collateral damage -- which is often
ignored, or overlooked.
In his review of "Out On Tuesday" (a lesbian/gay series that aired on British
television in the early 1990s), media critic Colin Richardson identifies a
similar problem. "Channel 4 advertised the series in the lesbian and gay
press," Richardson reports. "However, the channel ran very few trailers for
the series on screen, suggesting that it neither wanted to draw attention to
what it was doing lest it attract criticism nor that it had much interest in
courting -- converting? -- a straight audience."
Richardson also cites a survey on "Sex and Sexuality in Broadcasting," which
had been conducted by England's Broadcasting Standards Council (BSC). When
asked for their opinions about "homosexual representations on television," 61
percent of the respondents "were opposed to banning 'programmes and films
about gays and lesbians,' but 71 per cent agreed that they 'would find it
embarrassing to watch homosexual sex scenes with some of the people with whom
I watch TV' and 58 per cent agreed that 'homosexuals should be able to see
their own programmes.'"
The public's allowance for "their OWN programmes" is most revealing, says
Richardson, because "Out On Tuesday" was "just that." "Unusually for a
television series, it was cut off from the general flow," he observes. "We
were left talking to ourselves.... The place it occupied in the schedule,
far from being a bridgehead from which lesbians and gay men would move on to
conquer the commanding heights of British broadcasting, became in fact a
black hole into which every programme idea even remotely concerned with
homosexuality disappeared."
Admittedly, Richardson fails to acknowledge the value of "talking to
ourselves" -- a media activity that is most often a privilege of the dominant
culture. There is an undoubted place -- and need -- for "special interest
programming."
Yet, in a pluralistic society, the mass media ought to reflect diverse
communities to EACH OTHER -- not only to THEMSELVES. Homosexuality is a
television "taboo" PRECISELY BECAUSE the networks systematically treat such
themes as ESSENTIAL controversies -- "mature subject matter" that "should air
at a later time."
In the broadcast industry, such heterosexist expectations -- of viewer
disinterest or disgust -- become self-fulfilling prophecies. The networks do
not simply appease an audience of homophobes -- they cultivate it.
As long as they continue to sequester "general audiences" from homosexuality,
the producers of popular entertainment abet a taste for hate.
**** ACTION/OPTIONS: The first step in cultivating a general audience for
prime-time diversity is simple. GIVE IT TO THEM. And DON'T hide it away.
In the past, MTV has demonstrated a capacity (and even the desire) to do
better in this regard; the network should be reminded to do so now. Contact:
Judy McGrath, President, MTV Networks, Inc., 1515 Broadway, New York, NY
10036, tel. 212-258-8712 or 212-258-8000, fax 212-258-8718, e-mail
feedback@mtv.com. MTV is owned by Viacom International; copy your
correspondence to Sumner M. Redstone, Viacom International, Inc., 1515
Broadway, New York, NY 10036, tel. 212-258-6000.
R e / S o u r c e s : "Out On Tuesday" -- billed as "the world's first
television series by and for lesbians and gay men" -- is critiqued in Colin
Richardson's anthology, "A Queer Romance: Lesbians, Gay Men and Popular
Culture" (London: Routledge, 1995). Andrea Millwood Hargreave authored "Sex
and Sexuality in Broadcasting," an Annual Review of the Broadcasting
Standards Council (London: John Libbey, 1992).
[2]
G L A A D T O B E H Y P O C R I T E S
MTV's decision to reschedule the lesbian and gay episode of "Singled Out" is,
ultimately, a story about double standards and vested interests -- but not
only amongst heterosexist media moguls. Sadly, the episode has also revealed
hypocrisy and greed WITHIN the queer community -- amongst media activists at
GLAAD, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.
Appropriately, GLAAD's National Office was quick to denounce MTV's shifty
programming. In a press release issued on June 28, GLAAD expressed "outrage
that MTV would pull the same-sex episode of 'Singled Out' from its scheduled
prime-time spot...." "What MTV is saying is that lesbian and gay programming
is not fit for their prime-time audience, and that is outrageous," said Alan
Klein, GLAAD's News Media Director. "We will not be singled out by MTV and
Viacom (MTV's parent company) for discrimination."
According to Klein, "the rescheduling to late-night of a fairly tame,
fully-clothed game show featuring gay contestants is shocking. MTV's
backpedaling on this and their defensive posture is almost as distressing as
their moving it. It shows a profound lack of trust with their audience and
their viewership, particularly their gay and lesbian viewership.''
GLAAD's indignation is certainly justified. However, it is also
inconsistent. Just six months ago, GLAAD officials refused -- point blank --
to criticize ABC, though the network had also singled out lesbian and gay
programming for special discrimination.
In December, ABC pulled a "controversial" episode of "Roseanne" from its
regular time slot, airing the program at 9:30 instead of 8:00 PM. The
episode -- entitled "December Bride" -- featured the wedding of recurring
gay character "Leon" (Martin Mull) to his lover "Scott" (Fred Willard).
ABC's (in)excuse for the rescheduling was much like MTV's. "We felt the
adult humor within the show was more appropriate at a later time period when
there are fewer children in the audience," said ABC spokesperson Janice
Gretenmeyer.
When GLAAD's San Francisco Chapter criticized ABC's move, however, the GLAAD
National Office pitched a fit. William Waybourn, GLAAD National Managing
Director, notified the local chapter that the only response to the "Roseanne"
issue would be one of unmitigated praise. Differences of opinion (i.e.,
thinking) would not be tolerated.
GLAAD's lack of critical distance is no mystery. It seems that star-struck
GLAAD staffers had been invited to sit in on tapings of the "Roseanne"
series. Even more important, Roseanne herself had helped to fatten the
organization's bank account. Apparently, discrimination is OK . . . as long
as it's profitable.
GLAAD's current hypocrisy -- and greed -- mark a steady decline in the
organization's ethics and activist skill over the last two years. In May,
GLAAD effectively disbanded the errant San Francisco Chapter -- in what the
National Office deceptively claims was a "merger" [see "GLAAD No More,"
MediAlert!, May 10]. The process of chapter closures continues nationwide.
**** ACTION/OPTIONS: According to GLAAD National's mission statement, the
organization exists to "promote fair, accurate and inclusive representation
as a means of challenging all forms of discrimination based on sexual
orientation or identity. GLAAD is the Lesbian and Gay News Bureau and the
only national Lesbian and Gay multimedia watchdog organization." Contact:
William Waybourn, Managing Director, GLAAD National Office, 1875 Connecticut
Avenue Northwest, Suite 640, Washington, DC 20009, tel. 202-986-1360, fax
202-667-0902, e-mail waybourn@glaad.org or waybourn@aol.com (copy any e-mail
to glaad@glaad.org), http://www.glaad.org.; Peggy Brady, Chair, Board of
Directors, GLAAD National, 150 West 26th Street, New York, Suite 503, New
York, NY 10001, tel. 212-807-1700, fax 212-807-1806, e-mail glaad@glaad.org,
or glaadny@glaad.org.
[3]
F A C I N G H A T E
Encouraging viewers to "think about what hate can do," the Parents, Families
and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) recently launched two new, 30-second
television commercials. The more compelling of the two spots -- titled "They
Deserve It?" -- opens on a scene of "little kids playing and sharing a
secret." A voice over announces: "Some of them will be three times more
likely to commit suicide than their friends."
As the scene changes -- to an image of "children playing, running down a
hill, kicking a ball" -- the announcer says: "There's also a greater chance
that someday some of them will be assaulted, beaten, threatened, harassed or
even murdered.... just because they may be lesbian or gay."
On a close-up of children's faces, the voice over concludes: "But look at
them, they deserve it... don't they?"
Despite the problematic reference to suicide statistics [see "Taking Count,"
below] this new spot continues PFLAG's innovative, unapologetic -- and
effective -- approach to challenging the content AND consequence of
homophobia. "They Deserve It" is the second phase of a broader campaign --
Project Open Mind -- which "uses a two-fold strategy of multimedia and local
communications and community outreach at the grassroots level."
In phase one of the campaign , PFLAG also made the connection between hate
violence and hate speech, focusing on such notable media homophobes as Pat
Robertson. Though the ads drew rapid legal fire from the homophobes in
question -- and consequently received relatively little airplay -- the
resulting controversy (expertly managed by PFLAG) generated unprecedented
public interest nevertheless.
**** ACTION/OPTIONS: Encourage local broadcasters to seek out and support
bold, direct and EFFECTIVE anti-homophobia spots (rather than the PSA pabulum
that is usually passed off as a "public service"). For more information
about PFLAG's commercial efforts, contact: Parents, Families and Friends of
Lesbians and Gays, 1101 14th Street, Suite 1030, Washington, DC 20005,
http://www.pflag.org. Monthly PFLAG updates are also available online;
contact Karyn Robinson, Communications Assistant or Rob Banaszak,
Communications Director, tel. 202-638-4200, e-mail krobinson@PFLAG.org.
R e / S o u r c e s : To support PFLAG's outreach programs in the schools,
the Toledo chapter is marketing a new, half-hour educational video. "Wacky?
-- Families Trying To Understand Homosexuality" is described by organizers as
a "groundbreaking" and "intimate look at a lesbian couple's two extended
families as they work through various stages of the acceptance process."
Contact: PFLAG-Toledo, P.O. Box 4619, Toledo, OH 43620.
[4]
M E D I A L E R T ! / B R I E F S
*** T A K I N G C O U N T . . . The notion that lesbian and gay teens
are "three-times more likely" to attempt suicide (and account for "30 percent
of completed suicides each year") has become one of the most frequently
MISQUOTED statistics regarding homosexual youth. Journalists -- in both the
queer and mainstream media -- have reported these figures ad nauseam, without
regard for the vagaries of statistical research or survey design.
While suicidal ideation among lesbian and gay youth is not uncommon (and
even ONE death would be one too many), the statistical profiles used to
document a high rate of suicidality are problematic. Random samples of
homosexual youth are difficult -- if not impossible -- to generate. Most
studies of lesbian and gay youth suicide are based on convenience samples of
adolescents already involved in various counseling, suicide prevention, and
delinquency abatement programs.
Certainly, teen suicide (and other consequences of homophobia) deserves the
nation's undivided attention. However, it is also possible that -- in both
popular and academic media -- a historic emphasis on the psychosocial
problems faced by lesbian and gay youth has frequently obscured any
systematic consideration of their particular talents.
We are survivors, after all. Most lesbian and gay adolescents move willfully
into adulthood, by virtue of an extraordinarily powerful and creative
resilience. At least one psychologist, Gregory Herek, has suggested the need
for a shift in the research agenda -- to include studies of homosexual youth
as GIFTED CHILDREN.
C o n t a c t: The "three times more likely " and "30 per cent" figures so
often cited were originally drawn from a literature review, compiled in 1989
under the auspices of a federal task force (Paul Gibson, "Gay Male and
Lesbian Youth Suicide," U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Report
of the Secretary's Task Force on Youth Suicide. Washington, DC: Government
Printing Office).
Randall Sell and Christian Petrulio provide an overview of certain sampling
dilemmas, in their recent article "Sampling Homosexuals, Bisexuals, Gays, and
Lesbians for Public Health Research: A Review of the Literature from 1990 to
1992" ("Journal of Homosexuality," volume 30, number 4, 1996). Sell is a
Research Fellow at Columbia University (Randall L. Sell, ScD, Columbia
University, 622 West 168th Street, PH-9E, Room 105, New York, NY 10032) and
the "Journal of Homosexuality" is published by The Haworth Press (tel.
800-3-HAWORTH). Gregory Herek (P.O. Box 11196, Berkeley, CA 94701) is an
Associate Research Psychologist at the University of California, Davis.
*** F A M I L Y V A L U E S . . . Writing in "The Orlando Sentinel"
(July 4), staffer Sharon McBreen reports that "religious broadcaster George
Crossley has been charged with hiring an undercover agent to kill a man...."
Crossley had hired the agent to bomb his rival's house.
High explosives were not Crossley's first choice, however. Reportedly,
Crossley has told police that he would have preferred to shoot the man with a
9 mm bullet, and then have the body disposed of "where he just can't be
found."
McBreen describes Crossley as "a vocal opponent of gays in the military" and
"an outspoken religious conservative," who was also "a talk show host for 11
years on Christian radio stations 95.3 FM (WTLN) and 1520 AM (WTLN)."
According to McBreen, "the weird scenario surrounding Crossley's arrest
shocked the community." Shocking? If only they had really listened . . . .
Media homophobes like Crossley have been preaching violence all along.
C o n t a c t : "The Orlando Sentinel," 633 N. Orange Avenue, Orlando, FL
32802, fax 407-420-5286.
*** R E A L S E X . . . The latest version of MTV's popular
video-verite series, "The Real World," premiered on July 10 and features a
queer rommie once again. This season, the youthful cast is joined by a gay
man from Kansas -- Dan -- whose sexual orientation is identified in the first
episode. In previous seasons, "Real World" casts have included lesbian,
bisexual and HIV-positive roommates.
Real, live queers are also featured in the eighth and most-recent
installment of MTV's periodic documentary series -- "Sex In The 90's." "Sex
In The 90's VIII: Living Together" debuted on July 1, and explores "the
complications that arise when couples live together" ("Entertainment Wire,"
June 25). Included in the mix are Amy and Therese -- a young, "chaos free"
lesbian couple who live in San Francisco.
C o n t a c t : MTV Networks, 1515 Broadway, New York, NY 10036, tel.
212-258-8712 or 212-258-8000, fax 212-258-8718, e-mail feedback@mtv.com.
*** D O U B L E V I S I O N . . . The promotional copy for a new TV
series asks: "Do you find yourself doing a doubletake when you pass
billboard images of half-naked anorexics selling nearly invisible jeans? Do
you ever wonder whose lives Hollywood scriptwriters have in mind when they
portray women as either dipstick housewives or sexual predators? Do you long
for more positive female role models for your kids? Then stay tuned to WTN
[Women's Television Network] for 'Doubletake.'"
WTN is a Canadian cable channel; the new series -- "Doubletake" -- was
created to explore "the social consequences of the media image of women" and
suggest "what TV viewers can do about 'adjusting' their sets." Individual
programs in the 12-part series cover a range of "current trends and
controversies," addressing such themes as "cultural myths of romance," women
in the music industry, body image, women of color, female athletes, and
"women breaking into cyberspace."
"Doubletake" was developed by Shari Graydon, former president of MediaWatch
(a nonprofit Canadian women's group, "working to eliminate sexism in the
media since 1992"). The series was directed by Arlyn Weissman, producer of
the award-winning "Forbidden Love" (a film "on popular representation and the
lives of lesbian women in Canada in the 1950s").
C o n t a c t : Women's Television Network, (Winnipeg, Manitoba), tel.
204-783-5116; Shari Graydon, tel. 604-925-4330.
*** N E T N O T E S . . . "The Internet: What It Can and Can't Do for
Activists" is a new resource distributed by Social Justice Connections. For
$4.50, the 12-page booklet promises to "provide perspective beyond the hype."
C o n t a c t : Social Justice Connections, Dept. 7, P.O. Box 4090,
Arlington, VA 22204.
[end]
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ABOUT MEDIALERTS
"MediAlert!" [TM] is a weekly, activist-oriented column of media criticism,
focused on lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender issues. Recipients may print,
publish or post this material, in whole or part, under this or any title,
without prior permission. When appropriate, attribution can be made to "Al
Kielwasser" and/or "MediAlert."
File copies of publications using "MediAlert!" are appreciated. Contact:
"MediAlert!," 163 Park Street, San Francisco, CA 94110-5835, voice-mail
415-826-5203, fax 415-826-5203 (ext. 8), e-mail MediAction@aol.com.
Next "MediAlert!" = July 13 - 19, 1996
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AUTHOR NOTES
Al Kielwasser is the editor of "Gay People, Sex and the Media" (Haworth
Press) and has taught a wide range of courses and workshops in media theory
and practice. His research appears in the "Journal of American Culture,"
"Journal of Homosexuality," "Journal of Popular Culture," "Feedback: The
Journal of the Broadcast Education Association," "Critical Studies in Mass
Communication," and other publications; recently, he completed a two-year
term as Chair of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation/San Francisco
Bay Area (GLAAD/SFBA).
______________________________________________
Shape the forces that shape our society . . .
challenge homophobia in and through the media.
_______________________________________________